The City-States of Sorquos

Vanae

The Vanae Civilisation and ruins.

The Vanae culture was mostly human that was at its peak 1200 years ago.

They were arrogant, harsh and frequently evil.

The Vanae did not deal with demihumans (dwarves, elves, gnomes or halflings) but enslaved goblinoids (goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears).

There are numerous ruins dotted around Sorquos, including ruined cities such as Orostor, Harrax & Mergoth. The ones marked on the map are cities that used to hold 5000 or more Vanae inhabitants.

Some of the Vanae ruins have been built upon by Irryllian settlers. The city-state of Vareshiss is the biggest example, and there are also the towns of Merripas and Ferrisk.

The Vanae are not extinct, though their population has declined. Many surviving Vanae are in the catacombs and tunnels beneath the ruins.

Other Vanae have reverted back to barbarism and are found in the hills, mountains and forests.

The Vanae culture went into decline with a civil war around human sacrifice, which followers of Bernar, Croloxos and Aristus wanted but everyone else tried to stop.

Many of those in the wilderness are descendants of those who fought against the evil worshipers.

Many of those in the dungeons under the ruins still follow the evil gods and will sacrifice any captured enemies.

The Vanae Ruins are sometimes impressive, particularly their towers, temples, arenas and palaces. However, even before the collapse of Vanae culture they used magic and goblinoid slaves to dig deep underground – a mixture of Transmute Rock to Mud (with the mud removed by slaves), Stoneshape, Move Earth and Disintegrate spells.

The size and number of underground Vanae lairs dwarfs that of their surface structures.

The inhabitants can be varied as well.Although the evil Vanae retreated underground, they are not in every ruin, and only control a small proportion of of dungeons. The rest are usually inhabited by the Vanaes’ former minions – goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears.